


Night Shift

by hyucksicles



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Domestic Boyfriends, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Taeten boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:54:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23303473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyucksicles/pseuds/hyucksicles
Summary: Taeyong comes back from his night shifts at the hospital to his boyfriend littered in cuts and bruises.
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten
Comments: 18
Kudos: 176





	Night Shift

**Author's Note:**

> in these times of anxiety and fear, i think we could all need some soft nurse!taeyong being domestic af with his underground boxer!bf Ten. hope you all enjoy <3
> 
> (my love and support goes out to everyone during this rather scary time, especially health care workers, and i hope everyone is healthy and staying at home as best they can!)

The clock ticks closer to the 4am mark as Taeyong waits on his colleague to relieve him of his twelve hour shift at the hospital. The halls are relatively quiet except for the occasional shuffling of feet or hushed whispers between passing doctors. Taeyong sifts through some paperwork at the front desk, looking to get some last-minute work done before he has to leave. 

“Happy to go home?” 

Kiana, his coworker who works at the front desk, asks as she sits down with one steaming coffee in her left hand and another cup extended towards Taeyong in her right. Taeyongs gaze flicks from the coffee to her kind face for a second and he thanks her before accepting the warm beverage into his freezing hands. His fingertips welcome the scorching heat of the liquid. For some reason, Taeyongs hands were always ice cold whenever he spent time at the hospital. 

“Yeah, I am.” Taeyong gives a small smile as he returns to looking over a patient’s filled out form. 

“Have anyone waiting for you?” Kiana questions, a smile on her face and a curious lilt to her tone. Taeyong chuckles breathily. 

“Yeah, actually, my boyfriend.” He watches as Kiana takes a sip from her coffee, her hands curling around the cup as she hums in acknowledgement. 

“He’s still up at this time?”

“Probably, yeah.” Taeyong can picture Ten in his mind as the man sits on his couch in the living room, lip split and skin decorated in bruises, but a smile on his face all the same. Taeyong hopes the younger is there when he gets home, Taeyong hates it when he’s not. Because no matter how many times Ten reassures him, whenever the older opens the door to an empty couch, he always assumes the worst. 

“Does he also work a night shift somewhere? Or why does he stay up so late?” 

Kiana’s questions pull him back to reality, and Taeyong releases his lower lip from being worried between his teeth. “Yeah, something like that.” 

He laughs a little nervously. Kiana raises a brow at him, but doesn’t push any further. 

Taeyong takes a sip of his coffee, the dark liquid trickling through his mouth and down his throat, leaving a bitter taste in its path. It wasn’t exactly easy to talk about Ten’s “profession”, if you could even call it that. A couple of times a week, he would make his way over to a club in downtown Seoul. Instead of heading to the people packed dancefloors, he would take the stairs down to the basement floor of the building, where the nightly boxing matches took place. Needless to say, they were illegal. 

Despite his smaller statue and lean figure, Ten was known to be a safe bet against nearly all the opponents he faced. The fact that he had a background in contemporary dance made him much more flexible and have faster reflexes than other boxers. Whereas most of the men that entered the ring valued strength, Ten valued his sharp senses and fast paced mind. He caught onto his opponents moves almost before they could execute them, and quickly found a way to dodge or counteract them. Which didn't mean that he ended up unharmed, of course. 

Once. Only once Taeyong had accompanied him to one of his fights, still in the relatively early stages of their relationship. He shudders at the memory, the smell of blood and sweat, the sound of flesh hitting flesh and the flickering light of the meek lightbulb that hung above the ring still all too vivid in his mind. 

A tap on Taeyongs shoulder causes him to swivel around in his chair. His colleague smiles down at him, ready to trade places with Taeyong to begin her shift. Taeyong smiles back and bids goodbye to Kiana as he starts heading out into the streets of the city. 

The fall weather brings with it a cold wind as Taeyong step into the night. Despite the ungodly hour, the city still buzzes with activity. Skyscrapers decorate the vast expanse of the night sky with their varying blotches of light, making up for the lack of stars in the firmament. 

Taeyong wraps his arms tightly around himself to keep out the cold as he makes his way down to the nearest bus station. The bus arrives just as he gets there, door opening with a sound that could only be described as the mixture between a hiss and a screech. Taeyong steps onto the vehicle, moving to sit somewhere near the back. The bus is basically deserted at this hour and Taeyong pulls out his headphones from his jacket pocket to plug into his phone. He places the buds in his ears and hits play. 

The calming rhythm of Jonas blues’ Fast cars relaxes him as he leans against the cold glass of the window. Tiny droplets of water from the earlier rain travel down the glass slowly, blurring the colours of traffic. Taeyong sighs as he closes his eyes. The weight of having three consecutive twelve-hour-shifts weighs down on him and the aching of his muscles and joints becomes very apparent. He opens his eyes and stifles a yawn, stretching his sore limbs in the hope of relieving some of the pent-up pressure. 

The fifteen minute drive is over before he know it, and Taeyong thanks the bus driver as he gets out at his stop. He walks up to the apartment complex, stifling another yawn as his feet direct him towards the main entrance. As Taeyong trudges into the small lobby, he glances at the elevator. The words “Out of Order” are still sprawled into a sign that's taped to the front, just as it had been when he left the day before. 

Taeyong groans as he takes up the stairs to the fifth floor, feet protesting in pain with each step he took. It feels like an eternity until he finally reaches the door to his apartment. Reaching into his bag, Taeyong fumbles around before his hand wraps around his keys. 

His various bear-themed keyrings jostle together as Taeyong turns the key, hearing the lock click as he enters the narrow hall that leads to the living room of his apartment. Taeyong locks the door behind him and places the keys back inside his bag before hanging it on the coat rack that stands on his left. 

In the few steps it takes for him to reach the living room, Taeyongs heart beats just a bit faster than it did before. He was always nervous coming back home, terrified to find the familiar couch empty. 

As soon as Taeyong sees the back of Tens head he breathes out a sigh of relief, making the man himself turn around to face him. “Baby! You’re home!” 

Tens voice is happy and a smile plays on his face, but all Taeyong can focus on is the deep gash above his left eyebrow. The younger gets up from the couch and rounds it's corner to come greet his boyfriend.

He leans in for a kiss but Taeyong stops him, frown on the olders face. “That needs to be disinfected.” Taeyong states matter of factly as he inspects the cut in closer proximity.

“Yeah, I know.” Ten says as he playfully rolls his eyes. “But can I atleast get a kiss first?” The frown stays etched on Taeyongs face as he shakes his head no. 

“Bathroom, now.” 

Ten obliges, albeit begrudgingly and makes his way over to their shared bathroom. Taeyong takes off his shoes and jacket before following him. 

The younger is already sitting on the counter once Taeyong gets there, his pink lips in a slight pout. Ignoring his expression, Taeyong rummages through the drawer under the sink. He pulls out a first aid kit and a washcloth he keeps reserved for times like these and gets to work. 

A wince leaves Ten’s mouth as Taeyong presses a cotton ball doused in disinfectant to his cut. The olders eyebrows are drawn together harshly in concentration. 

“Can you relax your face? My forehead hurts just from looking at you.” 

Taeyong gives his boyfriend a pointed glare and intentionally pushes the cotton ball into his wound with a little more pressure. 

“Ow! Hey!” Ten exclaims in protest but Taeyong just shoots him another glare, pulling out a butterfly bandage and placing it over the cut. “Ok, maybe I deserved that.” Ten chuckles as his hand comes up to run through his black tresses. Taeyong clean the few trails of dried blood off his face with the dampened cloth and then moves to step back.

“Ok. I’m done.” 

Ten hops down off the counter,a strong wince escaping him as he does so. Alarmed, Taeyongs eyes search his body for any sign of further injuries. There's no blood visible, at least, but Taeyong doesn't fail to notice how one of Tens arms is protectively glued to his torso on the right. 

Moving the arm away despite Ten’s flurry of objections, Taeyong pulls up his boyfriends shirt to reveal a patch of greens and blues painting the skin near his ribs. Taeyongs first worry is that the ribs might be broken so he presses his hand to the area, careful to put pressure on only a certain spot in case they were actually fractured. “Does this hurt?” Taeyong asks as he glances up to see Ten’s reaction. 

“A bit, yeah.” 

Taeyong feels around the area, but the youngers ribs seem fine, the bruising only affecting the skin above them. All damage looked to be just on the outside. He breathes another sigh of relief as he meets eyes with his boyfriend. There’s a sheepish smile on his face. “Did you know your hands are cold as fuck?” 

Taeyong rolls your eyes at him. “You ask that everytime I’m done fixing you up, Ten. I think you know the answer by now.”

Ten takes ahold of Taeyongs hands and presses his own over them, rubbing slightly and blowing warm air into them to try and up their temperature even just a little. Taeyong closes his eyes at the comforting feeling, all the tiredness that had been washed away at the sight of Ten suddenly seeping back into his bones. A small silence surrounds the two for a while.

“Now can I kiss you?” There’s a light laugh that bubbles out of Taeyongs throat despite his previous annoyment and his eyes flutter open. Taeyong leans forward slightly to capture Tens lips with his own and his boyfriends fingers come up to cup Taeyongs cheeks as he swipes his tongue over Taeyongs bottom lip. The older groans but grants him access easily, making Ten smile into the kiss. 

Taeyong’s always too tired to stay mad at him, and besides, he had given up on the futile arguments they once had over Tens nightly activities long ago.

Taeyong pulls away with a shake of his head. 

“You’re lucky I love you. Because if I didn't, I would definitely not put up with this shit.” 

Ten laughs and together they slip out of the dimly lit bathroom, first aid kit laying forgotten next to the sink.

* * *

Taeyongs chin rests on top of his hands, tired eyes following Ten’s figure as he flits around the kitchen, determined to prepare his boyfriend a salad since “it’s not good to go to bed on an empty stomach”. Taeyong is amazed at the energy with which Ten moves, it seems as though despite how much he would work or how little he would sleep, a certain spark of energy never left the man's body.

The younger recounts tales of his day at the volunteer center as he starts chopping up the vegetables. Ten did, in fact, have a day job. His work at the volunteer center entailed anything from volunteering at animal clinics down to nursing homes. Taeyongs boyfriend loved what he did, yes, but it didn't exactly pay the bills. And as a nurse, Taeyong doesn't exactly have very deep pockets either. Hence, the fights. 

In some way, Ten had also grown attached to the world of underground matches after so many years of being wrapped up inside it. He had been boxing long before Taeyong had met him. It was crazy to think but, some of the guys who worked there had become Ten’s friends, or more like extended family over the years. Taeyong had met most of them, and they were all nice, definitely not people you’d expect to meddle in that kind of business.

Then again, anyone who met Ten wouldn't ever come to think that he fought underground boxing matches for a living. 

The bowl of salad clattering down before him lifts Taeyongs droopy eyelids with a jolt. “Eat your salad, and then it’s off to bed, ok?” 

Taeyong nods slowly, taking the fork Ten hands him and starting to eat. Ten moves around the counter to stand behind him as he sits on the bar stool. His hands come up to massage at Taeyongs shoulders. Taeyong can't help but let out a moan at how great it feels to have some sort of relief to the tension in his muscles. “Whoa there. Are we gonna have to take this to the bedroom?”

The older swats at his boyfriends hand lightly. “Too tired.” He whines, voice slightly muffled by the chunk of salad in his mouth. “I just wanna use the bed for sleeping.” 

Ten lets out a chuckle and plants a gentle kiss to the side of Taeyongs neck. “I know.”

After Taeyongs bowl is cleaned out, the two of them get ready for bed. The younger lets Taeyong use the bathroom first. 

His body's dangerously low energy level makes it hard to not fall asleep right there in the shower, but Taeyong braves through it. He rinses the rest of his toothpaste out of his mouth before stepping into out into bedroom, already clothed in his cozy pyjamas. Ten presses a quick kiss to his forehead in passing as the man heads to get ready himself. 

Taeyong flops onto the bed and wriggles around to get under the covers, sighing in content once he embraces the comfort of his own sheets. The dark curtains of the room are drawn closed to keep out the rays of the sun that is surely about to rise, and Taeyong finds himself grateful for the darkness that surrounds him like a blanket.

He’s nearly drifted off to sleep as he feel the bed dip ever so slightly behind him, his boyfriend clearly trying not to disturb him. Out of sheer habit, Taeyong turns around and wraps one arm around his boyfriends waist, while settling his head on the others chest, resting just above his heartbeat. Taeyong’s ready to drift off into sleep, but an odd thought that’s been swimming around in his head for some time pops up in his mind before he does.

"You know, sometimes I think you just started dating me because I'm a nurse." 

His voice comes out in a sleepy mumble and Taeyong thinks it takes a while for Ten to truly figure out what he had said. He snickers lightly once he does. "What, so that you could properly patch me up after my fights?" 

Eyes closed, Taeyong nods against his chest. The vibrations of Tens laugh run through Taeyong. "Anyone can patch up a few bruises and cuts, you don't need a medical degree for that. I started dating you because I liked you." 

Mind hazy as he slips in and out of consciousness, Taeyong only manages a hum in response. 

"And do you still like me now?" 

"I don't like you, silly. I love you." 

Taeyong smiles to himself at that and snuggles further into his boyfriends side as Tens arm comes to wrap firmly around Taeyongs waist. 

"I love you too."

The city outside the windows awakes to a new day as Taeyong lies in Ten's arms, the force of sleep finally leading him into his own little world of dreams.

**Author's Note:**

> kudos/comments are always appreciated! 
> 
> my [twt](https://twitter.com/neoneversIeeps)


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